(L) Aoi Hana (TV)

[Sorrow-K]

Ep 7

People are annoyed at Kuri for being a bit outspoken. My view is, as annoying as they can be sometimes, the world needs people who aren't afraid of calling it as they see it.

But it struck me as a strange time to come out. Which makes me think this was something of a ploy on Sugimoto's behalf, and that she needed Fumi there to convince her family that she was in fact a lesbian. It kinda backfired, since Kuri in particular was far from sold, but it looks like the family knows something about Sugimoto's past relationship(s) that we don't know.

Originally Posted by Matrim

Spoiler for ep.7:

Noto Mamiko and Nakahara Mai voicing the older sisters was fun, although I am not too sure whether Noto is realy a great choice for the part, could have used her for that sister teacher whose name I forgot instead for Shinako. And Kuri is bitchy but she did have a point. Plus, she is really, really hot in the manga and doubly so in the anime.

I've had problems with the vocal casting in this anime the entire time. Hardly any of the characters feel like their voices match their respective characters at first. As soon as I finally get used to one character's voice, another pops that feels like a mismatch.

Edit: And I've probably said it before, but how good is Kasai's directing. He's easily as deft as Shinbo, but doesn't include a song and dance to draw attention to it.

[TJR]

Originally Posted by SuperKnuckles

Not so sure about the Shino-love anymore, because when I think about it straightly, almost every renowned anime directors do a better job than him.

My opinion is that most of them aren't really Shinbou shows. Much like Steven Spielburg or Shigeru Miyamoto, the name is a marketing stamp.

If you think about it, how can one man be involved with so many productions? While Shinbou tops the chain of command, it's really the Production Director who executes the show. He's the one who works closely with the storyboarders (often doing a few episodes himself) and supervises the actual production.

You could probably say that Shinbou instructs the director and sets the basic specifications, but it's more of a hands-off role. Some have observed that while a Shinbou signature is always present, the shows vary wildly in style, quality, and execution.

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

I have high hopes of a second season

I hope so too, but I'm not holding my breath. In terms of TV ratings, there's nothing to be said, and I find it doubtful that DVD sales will save this one.

[NaweG]

Originally Posted by TJR

I hope so too, but I'm not holding my breath. In terms of TV ratings, there's nothing to be said, and I find it doubtful that DVD sales will save this one.

It's a pity Ellen DeGeneris couldn't have the cast visit her show. With that much publicity on a daytime talk show, there might be enough of an audience to help with the DVD sales - particularly if she gives everyone in the audience the first disc... In which case I want tickets to that episode

[SuperKnuckles]

Originally Posted by TJR

My opinion is that most of them aren't really Shinbou shows. Much like Steven Spielburg or Shigeru Miyamoto, the name is a marketing stamp.

If you think about it, how can one man be involved with so many productions? While Shinbou tops the chain of command, it's really the Production Director who executes the show. He's the one who works closely with the storyboarders (often doing a few episodes himself) and supervises the actual production.

You could probably say that Shinbou instructs the director and sets the basic specifications, but it's more of a hands-off role. Some have observed that while a Shinbou signature is always present, the shows vary wildly in style, quality, and execution.

I agree with that quite a bit actually. While I'm starting to get annoyed at Shinbo's Shinbo-isms (he seems to take the SHAFT brand a bit too much of a self-described stamp so to speak. It gets a bit too coy sometimes..), he does have flashes of brilliance and then some boneheaded stuff the next. Actually, it's sort of like Miyamoto's hand-me-down projects in Nintendo nowadays. Now it's full of a few classics with a load of iffy or outright stupid projects.

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

I might have agreed with SuperKnuckles about Shinbou before I saw Bakemonogatari. Maybe it drove SuperK one direction and me the other, lol. I've always loved the look and rhythms of Shinbou's shows. But Bakemonogatari gives him something deeper to work from.

The thing with that show in particular, to me, is how they are cutting so much corners as an anime, an 'animated' show, that it is more like watching a novel/graphic novel than a true anime. At least the plot itself is interesting, but man, you know the budget is getting TIGHT when they pass off real photographs that are photoshopped transfixed with overt amounts of on-screen-words as animation. I don't know. Maybe I'm blaming SHAFT here. But Shinboisms get more annoying to me when half of the entire show becomes words and still-scenes with awkward camera angles. I guess I still sort of see that as his charm though. Even if it's not sitting right in my stomach.

Originally Posted by Sorrow-K

Ep 7

People are annoyed at Kuri for being a bit outspoken. My view is, as annoying as they can be sometimes, the world needs people who aren't afraid of calling it as they see it.

But it struck me as a strange time to come out. Which makes me think this was something of a ploy on Sugimoto's behalf, and that she needed Fumi there to convince her family that she was in fact a lesbian. It kinda backfired, since Kuri in particular was far from sold, but it looks like the family knows something about Sugimoto's past relationship(s) that we don't know.

There's one thing about voicing something, then another to be blunt about it. I guess you can call it 'tactless'. I mean, it's clear that Yasuko got problems. It just looks to me like Kuri is just being blockheaded about it. In most anime, I guess that could be the 'anime character who blurts out the truth' syndrome, but the way the anime portrays it, it just looks like she's just being a bit of a bully. But I could be wrong and it could still be that trope..

I've had problems with the vocal casting in this anime the entire time. Hardly any of the characters feel like their voices match their respective characters at first. As soon as I finally get used to one character's voice, another pops that feels like a mismatch.

Heh, I like that aspect in a way, because that's sort of like how it is in real life. Sometimes the voices doesn't match the face.

[textgirl]

i love it i think that kuri was right on target to sempais intentions and i loved it also too i got to see how sempai really is towards fumi and it reminded me why i dont like sempai in the frist palce

the only thing i dont like is the voice casting for the sisters i think it was totally off in some area but i got use to it

[Bath-Teth]

Originally Posted by Blaat

All this manga talk makes me want to read it, but I'm patiently waiting until the anime is finished.

No kidding. It's really hard not to get the manga and read it. A week can be really long and if I'm hooked by a manga or anime like I am with Aoi Hana, I'm not the most patient there is. But luckily I'm stubborn enough to ignore my impatience.

@Sinestra and Kazu-kun:

If the answer to my question needs a spoiler-tag, I won't read it, but I can pretty much guess the answer and the possible connection about these 2 sisters. If my guess is right the whole situation and relationship between these sisters is much more complicated than I thought.

@Kaoru Chujo:

A second season would be awesome. Is the manga released weekly, bi-weekly or only once a month? How much more chapters do they need in your opinion to cover another 11 or 13 episodes? Is the anime/manga well-received enough to get hopes up for a second season?

Sorry for all the question, but you seem to be pretty knowledgeable about these things.

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by Bath-Teth

How much more chapters do they need in your opinion to cover another 11 or 13 episodes? Is the anime/manga well-received enough to get hopes up for a second season?

So does the fact that i already answered this not count?

& the tv-rating topic was already mentioned by TJR.

[Bath-Teth]

Originally Posted by Shiroth

So does the fact that i already answered this not count?

& the tv-rating topic was already mentioned by TJR.

Sorry I must've missed your post. From the first post here I only know the manga has currently 4 volumes, there's nothing stated about the time between a chapter release or the number of chapters an episode usually covers.

So TJR's: "...there's nothing to be said..." means the ratings aren't high enough to hope for a 2nd season?

Doesn't sound promising...

[pkgirl163]

Originally Posted by Bath-Teth

Is the manga released weekly, bi-weekly or only once a month? How much more chapters do they need in your opinion to cover another 11 or 13 episodes?

The manga is released once every two months. This works out to one volume per year. So volume 5 will not be out until next spring or so.
As other people have said, it looks like the anime is going to cover the first three volumes of the manga. Depending on the pacing, I suppose they could theoretically do another 11 episodes from what is out there now, but that's far less material than what they're working from now.

[Bath-Teth]

Originally Posted by pkgirl163

The manga is released once every two months. This works out to one volume per year. So volume 5 will not be out until next spring or so.
As other people have said, it looks like the anime is going to cover the first three volumes of the manga. Depending on the pacing, I suppose they could theoretically do another 11 episodes from what is out there now, but that's far less material than what they're working from now.

Thank you. Only 1 chapter every 2 month? That's even slower than Girl Friends. So a 2nd season is not in sight, probably.

[Sinestra]

This maybe slightly be insignificant but i just feel the need to post on it anyway. Sugimoto is a great to watch her and i love how this past episode finally tore down the imaginary of her having things together. One of the aspects i felt was done well was in how they presented her in normal clothes in the manga. I just noticed that they changed a little bit of doing of the anime not really a big deal. However in the manga they managed to give her a feminine look while ot down playing her masculine side and they did this quite well in her style of her dress. They went for more of the tomboyish look during Fumi's visit to her house in the anime. In the manga they combined the two which i thought was perfect because it complimented Sugimotos personality excellently.

Like i said nothing big just something i have noticed.

[Shiroth]

Spoiler for Episode 08:

The strong bond between Ah-chan and Fumi is truly shown in this episode. I adored the scene in the manga where Ah-chan confronts her about talking to Sugimoto, and i loved it all the more in this adaptation. The soft gently smile on Fumi's face at the end of that scene just melts my heart.

It's not just that scene, there's plenty of strong ones in this episode, as we progress and understand both Sugimoto's and Kyouko's character even more. Kyouko's confrontation is one of them. It is hard not to think bad against Sugimoto for acting that way against her, though it's what Kyouko needs at the moment. It is very painful to experience and accept, and it's what makes it all the more hard on her.

Back to Fumi, even in the manga it truly amazed me of how she acts as if nothing ever happened infront of Sugimoto. I do believe in her words that Ah-chan is helping her during this time, though it's only human to break down the way she did in the last scene from remembering the time they spent together. Actually speaking of that scene, it's different then the manga. Fumi starts to cry after Kyouko mentions about the unrequited love topic, though in this they both cry. Yet another another change from the manga, though i don't find myself having any problems with it. Kasai is a director that can do this, and the new scene doesn't feel forced or added for the sake of it. It truly shows the signs of an amazing director. Anyway, this is what Fumi said to herself, which ended up with her in tears.

"Oh no, i was going to smile and tell her everything would be alright, but she's thrown me off balance with just a few words. Oh god, what do i do now?"

As i said, i do like both versions. It brings quite a twist having new scenes like this, and look all the more forward to one of my favorite scenes which should be in the last episode.

[wandering-dreamer]

So this show is only going to have 11 episodes instead of 12 or 13? Wow, that's super short, then again, from that list it looks like they are hopschocking over all the different volumes so there would be less material to work with that way...

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by wandering-dreamer

So this show is only going to have 11 episodes instead of 12 or 13? Wow, that's super short, then again, from that list it looks like they are hopschocking over all the different volumes so there would be less material to work with that way...

There's no jumping around with material here. It's only now and then (this weeks episode for example) where they switched scenes around, though they both appeared in the same chapter. Where are you hearing this?

[wandering-dreamer]

Ah my bad, I was skimmng the episode list on the previous page and started mixing up manga and volume numbers so I was getting thrown off a little. Please ignore my confused-ness...

[SuperKnuckles]

Man, Ikumi really broke down that episode. I know she was a high strung girl to begin with, but she was just BEGGING for a punch/slap/kick by Kyouko right there. Honestly, I wonder what good can ever come of something like this. Kyouko really is being pushed into a corner there. Though a lot of it has come from her own insecurities.

[Shiroth]

The soundtrack's out this Wednesday 26th (my birthday as well, what perfect timing). Anyone here preordered a copy yet?

[Sinestra]

Originally Posted by Shiroth

Spoiler for Episode 08:

The strong bond between Ah-chan and Fumi is truly shown in this episode. I adored the scene in the manga where Ah-chan confronts her about talking to Sugimoto, and i loved it all the more in this adaptation. The soft gently smile on Fumi's face at the end of that scene just melts my heart.

It's not just that scene, there's plenty of strong ones in this episode, as we progress and understand both Sugimoto's and Kyouko's character even more. Kyouko's confrontation is one of them. It is hard not to think bad against Sugimoto for acting that way against her, though it's what Kyouko needs at the moment. It is very painful to experience and accept, and it's what makes it all the more hard on her.

Back to Fumi, even in the manga it truly amazed me of how she acts as if nothing ever happened infront of Sugimoto. I do believe in her words that Ah-chan is helping her during this time, though it's only human to break down the way she did in the last scene from remembering the time they spent together. Actually speaking of that scene, it's different then the manga. Fumi starts to cry after Kyouko mentions about the unrequited love topic, though in this they both cry. Yet another another change from the manga, though i don't find myself having any problems with it. Kasai is a director that can do this, and the new scene doesn't feel forced or added for the sake of it. It truly shows the signs of an amazing director. Anyway, this is what Fumi said to herself, which ended up with her in tears.

"Oh no, i was going to smile and tell her everything would be alright, but she's thrown me off balance with just a few words. Oh god, what do i do now?"

As i said, i do like both versions. It brings quite a twist having new scenes like this, and look all the more forward to one of my favorite scenes which should be in the last episode.

I havent watched the episode yet but it sounds like they expanded on one of my favorite and emotional parts of the manga in the anime. Which could make it just that much more emotional. Must make an effort to watch the episode tonight.

Originally Posted by Shiroth

The soundtrack's out this Wednesday 26th (my birthday as well, what perfect timing). Anyone here preordered a copy yet?

I am pre-ordering it when i get off from work, left my credit card at home that is if i ever get out here i hate being rich peoples pawn lol.

[Kaoru Chujo]

That was nice.

Spoiler for ep8:

The feeling between Fumi and Aa-chan deepens. I loved Fumi and Kyouko's weeping duet. Like a mild catharsis.

I felt as if I understood where all the characters were coming from: from Fumi to Aa-chan to Kyouko to sempai to teacher to sempai's sisters and mother.

Maybe we didn't get quite enough of Fumi and sempai together, to see that they had something that they lost. But perhaps that was the point: they were both on the rebound and had less than it appeared.

Aa-chan's little determined expressions when thinking of sempai and then when confronting her were incredibly cute, but also strong at the same time. Go to her, Fumi: she's awfully lovable....

My favorite scene was also Fumi and A-chan in Fumi's room. Both the flying-hug entry and the flop on the bed:


I also liked how Fumi hurriedly straightened her hair when she heard Aa-chan was coming in.

I admit I liked their little wrestling match on the bed, but maybe I felt it was going a bit too far at the time: obvious hint for their future together?

[Shiroth]

This is completely awesome, and a must buy for everyone.